The theme of betrayal in Hamlet PDF

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Themes of Hamlet....

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The theme of betrayal in Hamlet This essay proposes to discuss the theme of betrayal in the play Hamlet written by William Shakespeare. King Claudius is the biggest perpetrator which leads to the severe consequences. Young Hamlet is the protagonist which counteracts the betrayal. Betrayal is a cycle in the play, however, accompanied with collateral damage. Claudius is the worst in terms of betrayal. He kills his brother by pouring poison into his ear while he sleeps in his orchard. He commits an unnatural murder. Claudius further betrays his brother through his lustful appetite to acquire the Queen by his side. He usurps the throne and steals all the good fortunes of the King. The betrayal of, King Hamlet, his brother gives rise to tragic events. He betrays Gertrude by killing her husband. He further betrays her by marrying her out of lust instead of love. He further betrays Gertrude by not displaying transparency about his missions in terms of Elsinore. His betrayal towards Gertrude manifests as he plots to kill Young Hamlet in two instances. Initially, he exiles Hamlet to England to be killed. His contingency plan is to kill Hamlet through a duel through a poisoned tip and a goblet of wine. He indirectly kills Gertrude through the duel session. The Queen betrays the King by marrying immediately after her late husband’s death and betrays Hamlet by not mourning the death of his father. Betrayal is linked to hurt which impacts Hamlet’s values negatively. Claudius betrays his cousin by killing his father. He also marries Gertrude fuelling the betrayal between his cousin and himself. He betrays his cousin by usurping the crown from Young Hamlet. Due to Hamlet’s pain and discovery about his father’s suffering in purgatory he plots to betray Claudius and rectify and restore the values in Denmark. Hamlet’s madness is an act of deception to draw attention away from his suspicious activities as he tries to compile evidence to overthrow the King. Hamlet says, ‘That I essentially am not in madness. But mad in craft’. Hamlet further develops his trap through staging a play The Mousetrap an elaborate deception, as an elaborate attempt to catch Claudius in his guilt. Hamlet says, ‘The plays the thing. Wherein I’ll catch the conscience of the King’. Hamlet plans to deceive his mother, Gertrude at their meeting in the closet. He intends to be cruel to be kind. His disgust regarding his mother’s actions evokes the notion that Ophelia will cause agony, hence he uses her as a pawn. Hamlets intention of betrayal is to draw the concept of justice and inspire integrity within characters. Laertes is a noble character which is rigid in his moral values. Claudius betrays Laertes by playing on his values and hurt. He naively allows himself to be drawn into Claudius’s trickery and deceit. He even offers to dip his illegally sharpened rapier in lethal poison. He betrays Hamlet by hypocritically accepting Hamlet’s apology before the duel. In the end he betrays Claudius by revealing the King’s crimes and begs for forgiveness although he is dying. Hamlet kills the King which displays his betrayal through justice. The consequences of betrayal are deadly. However, through betrayal loyalty is witnessed. The play develops characters through their procrastination, manipulation and spiritual views. This is associated with the theme of treachery....